While some may criticize it as unoriginal for parallels to past
movies and literature, James Cameron's latest masterpiece, Avatar
is a smash hit among critics and moviegoers alike.

Fueled
by strong sales of more expensive 3D
movie tickets and fueled by a viral marketing campaign online and
off, Avatar proved a triumph in a hit or miss market that's
seen even veterans like Harrison Ford recently deliver painful
flops. If Avatar has one problem it's that it's having a
hard time keeping up with international demand, as the film quickly
raked in over $1B USD within only three weeks of its December 10,
2009 release.

From a tech and science standpoint Avatar
is landmark success for 3D animation, marking the first time
audiences have embraced (for the most part) emotive human-like 3D
characters alongside living ones in a drama flick. The
animation pushes the boundaries of current work, as does the
xenobiology featured in the film (Avatar hired a team of
experienced biologists to help develop the flora and fauna of the
fictional world of Na'vi).

Now Avatar is about to make
history as it is expected
today to become the highest grossing film ever, sinking the
Titanic's record total of $1.843B USD. What is
particularly impressive is how quickly Avatar pulled in the
total, reaching $1.841B USD over the weekend, after only six weeks in
theaters, and less than that in some foreign markets.

In
many countries, Avatar has become the top grossing U.S. film
in their history, and even among their total top grossing films -- a
remarkable achievement in countries with strong film industries like
France. Internationally the film has earned $1.288B USD,
despite getting a bumped from China's standard theaters for a new
Chow Yun Fat epic about the Chinese philosopher Confucius (Avatar
continues to play in around 900 of China's 3D theaters).

Even
as Avatar rolls towards the epic mark of becoming the first
movie to break $2B USD, Cameron has announced that two sequels are in
the works. Considering Fox may have spent more than $300M USD
on the film, that's great news for the 3D animation industry.

With
its success, Avatar has drawn some backlash. The U.S.
Marine Corps disliked the unflattering depiction of the mercenary
marine army whose leadership was corrupted by greed and bloodlust.
Others loved Avatar so much that they reported depression and
suicidal thoughts out of regret they could not live in the movie's
fantasy world. And still others have complained of the film
being too similar to past work, varying from Pocahontas (first
popularized to the masses by the 19th century burlesque The Gentle
Savage) to Braveheart.

Critics, for the most part,
have been deaf to such criticism. They rewarded Avatar
with awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Director and the 2010
Golden Globe Awards.

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For example I saw Daybreakers this weekend. Very few things are as beat to death as the Vampire genre, but I was actually impressed at how original the movie was. They took something beaten to death and made it feel new and refreshing and very original. With great writing, acting, and very few if any plot holes.

Would you say Serenity is the "same old stuff" as well ?

Saying "nothing original is left" is just sad. Do you believe man has reached the end of it's imagination ? That just isn't possible.

There is a big difference between being unoriginal and something being recycled. Avatar is recycled content, in the truest sense of the word.

Movie making is still an art to some people. Just because Cameron has sold out and has strictly gone for maximum profits doesn't mean everything that can ever be done has already been done.

Well technically Serenity is a complete ripoff of Cowboy Bebop, which in turn was heavily influenced by Trigun, which is turn was based off of Battle Angel Alita...

so yea, I'd say most things have been done.

Any hero story adheres to, or is a variation of the Monomyth.

Major processes of the monomyth include:

The Call to Adventure- Jack Goes to pandoraRefusal of the Call- Initially didn't want to go.Supernatural Aid- Saved from being killed by the female navi because of the seeds landing landing on her bow.The Road of Trials- The training portionThe Meeting With the Goddess- The connection to the tree of ancestors sceneAtonement with the Father- In him case, admittance and atonement for betraying the tribe.The Magic Flight- obviousMaster of Two Worlds- obviousFreedom to Live- Final scene

You could fill events that fit these categories in any hero story. From beowolf to Avatar.

In the context of the monomyth, everything that can be done will still be just a variation, and not truely original.

Oh, there is a Live-Action version of Space Cruiser Yamato (Star Blazers) coming from Japan. It looks pretty good.

Or how about the thousands of Kung-fu / Triad movies that have come out in the past 50 years? Or the countless of Anime that is magical girls or cute school girls that beat up boys? We have Bakugun(whatever) that is replacing Pokemon...

Avatar is a movie that is well put together and entertaining - doesn't matter if its a re-told story. How many people (younger) watch movies made 20, 40, 50 years ago? Black and white... ew!!! Personally, I don't mind watching a good movie, even if its not in color.